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sophieamreacher's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic, beautiful written and poetic. Full of fate and wisdom. I loved the badass FMC and the big softie love interest. I love the world building and the way the plot unfolds. Great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, War, Alcohol, Excrement, Gore, Pregnancy, Bullying, Death, Sexism, Blood, and Body shaming
Minor: Rape
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Now...this was a great sequel! ^^
After the out-of-the-blue ending with that shocking revelation, Joe Abercrombie carefully stirs our boat in new waters with 2 new and great characters:Thorn Bathu and our beloved Brand. :)
In addition, this story is more de 60% about a journey over seas and nations, something I always liked. I hope than even if you don't have a fancy for quests and the such, you'll give this book a try; the character development for both Yarvi, Rulf, Queen Laithlin, and the new additions for the trip are just worth it! ^^
At the core, the plot is simple and straightforward...to get help with the current problem at hand. That's usually followed by a quest over large teritories, so no surprise there...BUT...Skifr, Thorn, Brand and other smaller characters(to name a few...Fror, Safrit and Koll,etc) are definitely a joy to read and experience their stories.
As the back of the book implies, Thorn and Brand are the stars of the show: they start from completely different points on many planes of comparisons (views in life, positions in society, discrimination for what they are, chances to proove themselves and many more) and slowly they converge their paths through situations encountered, trauma, camaradery, loss, and fear.
I must say that I didn't necesary believe that either one of them were wrong or imature at the start of the book, but simply that was their experience and level of understanding situations...I loved how Brand is such a bleeding heart and always a man standing in the light (I feel I would have done the same things as him given the chance); and I really enjoy how Thorn puts on her brave face every time she faces something new...they are precious! ^_^
I find it beautifull how growth and learning can change you, without robbing you of your core principles/ defence mechanisms and other fundamental parts of you....:)
So, for the character development: this book gets an A+ from me!
As I mentioned before, the plot is simple at it's core, but the author makes it so interesting along the way, that i cannot imagine another writer doing a better job instead.
Now, for the cultural stuff, lore and overall, worldbuilding....Abercrombie is extremely talented!
He uses the same tactic of giving info whenever is necesary, never drawning you with extras for some creature or aspect of the world as many other tend to do. He is really confortable to let you wander who are the Horse people?, or what exactly is happening in Kalyiv with prince Varoslaf and how is affecting everything else?....I really enjoed this...it makes me think this is a real world with real problems that cannot possibly be always explained or resolved by one person.
Something I noticed, the One God is quite familiar! :))))..all this revealed itself to me in the First of Cities, where we got to see some amazing stuff with Thorn, Brand and Yarvi(loved the connection with the previous book!)
Father Yarvi is such a ""deep-cunning man"! :)))) ...I was a little bit surprised with the turn of events at the end...although we got some foreshadowing in the beginning. I wander if Yarvi's ambitions are satisfied with his current situation..because I'm definitely not! From the second half of the book onwards...I wanted him to take a step up the ladder literary! Maybe that will get fixed in the final book....I hope..0_0
What else to say...atmosphere on point, great worldbuilding, amazingly paced journey, fantastic charactr growth, norse inspiration, the right amount of action scenes and training, political intrigue with Mother Scaer and others, Father Yarvi is quite the snake for those unimportant to him! :))))
So, if anything said in the paragraf above interests you, please continue with the series! You will not be dissapointed!
Enjoy
After the out-of-the-blue ending with that shocking revelation, Joe Abercrombie carefully stirs our boat in new waters with 2 new and great characters:Thorn Bathu and our beloved Brand. :)
In addition, this story is more de 60% about a journey over seas and nations, something I always liked. I hope than even if you don't have a fancy for quests and the such, you'll give this book a try; the character development for both Yarvi, Rulf, Queen Laithlin, and the new additions for the trip are just worth it! ^^
At the core, the plot is simple and straightforward...to get help with the current problem at hand. That's usually followed by a quest over large teritories, so no surprise there...BUT...Skifr, Thorn, Brand and other smaller characters(to name a few...Fror, Safrit and Koll,etc) are definitely a joy to read and experience their stories.
As the back of the book implies, Thorn and Brand are the stars of the show: they start from completely different points on many planes of comparisons (views in life, positions in society, discrimination for what they are, chances to proove themselves and many more) and slowly they converge their paths through situations encountered, trauma, camaradery, loss, and fear.
I must say that I didn't necesary believe that either one of them were wrong or imature at the start of the book, but simply that was their experience and level of understanding situations...I loved how Brand is such a bleeding heart and always a man standing in the light (I feel I would have done the same things as him given the chance); and I really enjoy how Thorn puts on her brave face every time she faces something new...they are precious! ^_^
I find it beautifull how growth and learning can change you, without robbing you of your core principles/ defence mechanisms and other fundamental parts of you....:)
So, for the character development: this book gets an A+ from me!
As I mentioned before, the plot is simple at it's core, but the author makes it so interesting along the way, that i cannot imagine another writer doing a better job instead.
Now, for the cultural stuff, lore and overall, worldbuilding....Abercrombie is extremely talented!
He uses the same tactic of giving info whenever is necesary, never drawning you with extras for some creature or aspect of the world as many other tend to do. He is really confortable to let you wander who are the Horse people?, or what exactly is happening in Kalyiv with prince Varoslaf and how is affecting everything else?....I really enjoed this...it makes me think this is a real world with real problems that cannot possibly be always explained or resolved by one person.
Something I noticed, the One God is quite familiar! :))))..all this revealed itself to me in the First of Cities, where we got to see some amazing stuff with Thorn, Brand and Yarvi(loved the connection with the previous book!)
Father Yarvi is such a ""deep-cunning man"! :)))) ...I was a little bit surprised with the turn of events at the end...although we got some foreshadowing in the beginning. I wander if Yarvi's ambitions are satisfied with his current situation..because I'm definitely not! From the second half of the book onwards...I wanted him to take a step up the ladder literary! Maybe that will get fixed in the final book....I hope..0_0
What else to say...atmosphere on point, great worldbuilding, amazingly paced journey, fantastic charactr growth, norse inspiration, the right amount of action scenes and training, political intrigue with Mother Scaer and others, Father Yarvi is quite the snake for those unimportant to him! :))))
So, if anything said in the paragraf above interests you, please continue with the series! You will not be dissapointed!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Bullying, War, Vomit, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Murder, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcoholism, Gore, and Religious bigotry
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